


Sunset

by inquisitorsmabari



Series: Inquisitor Amelie Trevelyan [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 13:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12458733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitorsmabari/pseuds/inquisitorsmabari
Summary: Cullen is alone in his office when someone comes to his door with a message: the Inquisitor has returned.





	Sunset

His office was dark, and Cullen was alone. But it never bothered him, the solitude. He could get his work done, he could relax, unwind, lose himself in a book or write to his family. And, anyway, no one was ever really alone at Skyhold. The walls were thick, that much was true, but the giant hole in his ceiling meant that every noise, every prayer, every clang of sword upon shield, wormed its way in to his office and filled the silence inside. Even now the noise was endless, a great murmur of chatter indicated the hustle and bustle of a visitor at the gates. He didn’t let himself wonder who it could be, he’d put his money on hunters returning with game, if he wasn’t so disastrous at gambling. Still, it was none of his business, a simple distraction from his work. And he never liked distractions.

His door burst open, pulling him away from his work and giving him a scowl which could have brought the armies of Corypheus to its knees.

“What?” He barked at the footsoldier stood in his doorway.

“I’m sorry, C-Commander,” He stuttered. “It’s the Inquisitor, she’s returned.”

He was almost stunned in to silence, his quill dropping from his hand and falling on to the desk with a clatter and a smudge of ink on whatever it was he had been writing, he’d forgotten already.

“Of course, thank you,” He replied with the hint of a smile. Composing himself, and giving it just a few seconds to allow the soldier to leave, he rose from his desk, and marched over to the door to his office making a conscious effort to slow his steps, to stop himself from running down the stairs and in to her arms. He’d done that before, but he couldn’t stop himself. How had he known she would survive the fight with Corypheus? How had he known she would survive the wrath of the sky and the fracturing of stone?

But he could be composed, he could hold himself together. It had only been… three weeks? No, longer. The Storm Coast wasn’t close, and from her reports, she’d delved further in to the Deep Roads than any of them could’ve imagined. Of course, her reports had endured many a read, especially those ones addressed just to him, with a personalised note and an expression of her love. They sat by his bedside even now, where they’d be picked up and read in the fading candlelight whilst he shared his bed with no one but the cold, bitter wind.

He kept himself still, walking stiffly along the battlements and looking out over the courtyard with not so much of a trace of expression. But his heart was pounding in his chest, his head spinning, his legs weak with anticipation as he scanned the crowd of people below looking desperately for any sign of her.

And then he saw her next to her chestnut coloured horse, her white armour covered in dirt and blood and her hair pulled back in to a ponytail. He couldn’t bring himself to call out, she was so far from him, and he was just a man in the distance obscured by the sun at his back. But he was wrong. Their eyes met, and then he didn’t know if he could ever look away, pulled to her gaze by some unknown force. All he could do was smile as she smiled at him.

“I’ll see you at dinner?” She called above the din.

“Yeah, see you at dinner.”

He watched her give him one last smile, just a flicker on her lips before she turned and walked away, walking her horse towards the stables. All he knew now was that dinner couldn’t come soon enough.

\-----

Amélie had sat herself opposite him at dinner, and all he could do was watch her talk and laugh and smile. It was like a fire had been rekindled in his heart. All these days of sitting in his office and working in the dark, he never knew what he was missing in his life until she was no longer there to distract him, to visit him after hours and pry the papers from his hand. And her smile, it was to die for, except it wasn’t quite as bright as normal.

He saw the angry scar on her left cheek, and he saw how she flinched everytime she smiled too hard or laughed too loud. It pained him to see her like this, but he told himself that it was ok, she was here, she’d returned. He just wished she’d never had to leave.

“Commander!”

“Yes?” He asked, startled from his trance by the very woman he had been watching. Maker she knew how to make him blush.

“Would you mind if we went elsewhere to discuss those reports I sent?” She asked in a serious tone, but he knew that she had no intention of discussing reports. He hoped so, anyway. 

“Of course,” He replied, before following her as they exited the hall and descended the long stairway to the courtyard as fast as they could without drawing attention. Except, they probably had already. “Where exactly are we going?”

“Just for a walk.” She said, taking his hand as they walked through the gatehouse and underneath the great iron portcullis. He had no idea where she was taking him and the light was dimming, but he didn’t stop to think about what she was planning, he only marvelled in the sensation of her hand entangled within his, gloved hand touching gloved hand.

They walked far, along the long bridge which connected Skyhold to the world, down the cobblestone mountain trail until the landscape became littered with trees scattered about the mountainside in clumps of two or three. They turned off the path, picking their way through the thick underbrush and slowly climbing and climbing until they reached the peak of a small hill covered in luscious green grass which felt as soft as a blanket as they sat down together, looking out at the world beneath them.

It really was beautiful. It was summer still, the snows of winter a long distant memory now that the world was every shade of green, pink, yellow, gold. And yet it was still cold, the air still bit even as he hid under his thick armour, but he didn’t mind, she was all he needed. Her smile, her laughter, her orange hair set against an orange sunset.

“So why here?” He asked as she brought herself underneath his arm, her head resting against his shoulder.

“Too many people at Skyhold,” She answered softly.

“You don’t like to share me?” He asked with a laugh.

“No, not really.” She replied, the two of them laughing as the fingers of his left hand played with her hair which sat loose on her shoulders.There were a thousand words he had wanted to say, but he didn’t say any. He didn’t know where to start. Instead, he just watched as the sun leaked reds and oranges and golds all across the sky. “I didn’t see the sky for three weeks,” She told him, “And now I can’t get enough of it.”

“That sounds very familiar.”

“Does it?”

“Yeah,” He said, bringing his finger up to stroke the freckled skin of her cheek, tracing the unfamiliar line which had etched itself upon her delicate skin. “Does it hurt?” He asked as she flinched beneath his touch.

“A bit,” She replied. “It’s not so bad now.”

“What happened?”

“They had these crossbows,” She began. “They were weird though, so fast, and blue. I couldn’t get a barrier up fast enough and I only had Dorian with me, so I had to try and heal it myself. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course not,” He answered, bringing his face in close to hers and whispering into her scarred skin with his own scarred lips. “We match.”

“Yeah,” She said with a smile. “We do.”

The world darkened around them as the sun finally fell below the surface of the world, and the sky went from orange to a hazy blue as they remained still and silent in each others arms. The world was silent, dark, but they were alone, together.

**Author's Note:**

> I just got very feely about the idea of them watching the sunset ok?


End file.
